Glass in Nature

When Chahuli was placing the glass pieces around the museum he did it with a vision. It isn't just scattered randomly around the museum. He purposely put tall plants near tall sculptures and plants that spread out near sculptures that spread out. His vision helps that sculptures look more natural and more like they were anticipated to be there.

Grass Orb

The design on this ball of glass almost mimics the grass. The colors on the black glass spiral out from the center like the grass does around the orb. The grass seems to be making an even bigger spiral as it surrounds the orb.

Towers

The tall glass sculpture looks like a perfect match against the Space Needle. Both are tall and straight, almost matching each other. I also was glad that when I took this picture the sun wasn't out. The sun would have been right in between the glass and the Space Needle, overexposing the picture.

Row Boat

The first thing I notice when I look at all of the sculptures is the different shapes of glass. There is never the same glass piece in a single sculpture. The second thing I notice is the crisp reflection off of the glass bottom. It provides an interesting new view of the glass.

Glass Garden 

The next room was a long row of different glass sculptures. They came in all different colors, shapes, and sizes. The hardest part about that pictures of glass is it reflects light very well. The front blue pieces of glass were easy to photograph but the back yellow piece of glass made my photo look overexposed. To fix that I increased the shutter speed and focussed on the yellow glass to make sure that it didn't ruin the picture.

Light

The next room in, the lights were covered by colored glass. The glass made the light turn the color casting different colored light across the room. I chose to take pictures of this glass piece because of the ripples in it and the different colors. It was one of the few that were blue and red and I thought two colors would be more interesting to photograph than one.

Reflection

This sculpture was designed with the sea in mind. It has a wave-like appearance, the colors are blue and yellow, and the small yellow glass objects are animals from the sea. Some of the yellow objects are octopus and squid, and others are different types of fish.

Glass Rods

The next day, we went to the Chihuly Museum next to the Space Needle. Inside the museum, it is very dark. Most of the lights are from the glass or lights only lighting the glass. On the bottom of the glass work, there is a reflective surface. The surface creates a complete mirror of the glass. There isn't much of a mirror in this picture, but you will definitely see it soon.

Gum Wall

In an alley near Pike Place Market, there is this gum wall. Supposably, it was cleaned just a few months ago, but so many people have put their gum on the wall that it 'regrew.' Also, on the top of the picture, there are longer pieces of gum. I think this was from a heat wave that went through Seattle. I think it melted the gum and since it was hanging, it started to fall downward.

Glasswork

The last stall I am posting is this glass stall. Seattle is the second largest producing glass city in the world, behind Maruno, Italy. All of this glass was blown in the city. I was lucky enough to see a glass ornament being blown. It is a very delicate process that takes time and patience.

Fresh Produce

Like the crab and fish, the market also has rows and rows of fresh produce. While they had many different types of produce, the most common was cherries. This is because most of the cherries are grown in the northwest. There were three main groups but I heard several other names of cherries.

Crab

Along with fish, the crab was also very popular in the market. Like the fish, they are all fresh and were just delivered from the fishing boats. The expression they make is creeping me out. They have beady eyes and look like they are about the attack you with their claws.

Rows of Seafood

This stall was selling fresh seafood. All of it was whole until you placed an order or asked for them to cut it up so you could take it home. It was so fresh that you could even see them unloading it from the fishing boats. They took it from the boats and straight to this ice display. From there someone ordered it and took it home to eat.

Pike Place Market

The next day, we went to the market in the morning. The market has everything you think you might need. Fresh groceries from local farmers, seafood, jewellery, glass work, you name it and they have it. Right as you walk up, you see this sign and the ocean backdrop. It is the perfect place for a market from the background to the things they are selling.

Kerry Park

After we finished our tour, we went to the Kerry Park. It has the best view of Seattle. It has a higher elevation which allows me to see more of the city. Luckily when I took the picture, there were no clouds blocking my view of the city.

Baseball

At the end of our tour around the University, we stopped at the baseball field. They just finished a camp so, we were able to tour the facilities and the field. One thing I remember from the dugout, is they don't have fans like we do in Texas. Instead, they have heaters to keep the players warm.

Berries

During the many times we were in Seattle's nature, almost every one of those times I found a type of berry. There were blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. The northwest is also known for their cherries. While I had many of them, I was never able to see them on their trees.

Lake Washington

Looking out from the shell house is the lake and part of downtown. I like how we can see all aspects of Seattle. The water, the animals, the city, and even a mountain in the background. This is where the rowers practice their rowing. They go out from the dock and practice on the open lake.

Shell house

One of the athletic events that the University of Washington is known for is their rowing. We saw both of their shell houses, the place where they keep the rowing boats (called shells). One of the most famous shells is the 'Husky Clipper.' It was the shell that the 1936 United States Olympic team used to win gold.

George Washington

As we entered the University of Washington, we were met with this statue of George Washington. It was placed in 1909 from the request of a professor. In the back left is a broken obelisk. It is one of six with the others in Houston and New York City. Behind that is the Suzzalo library, who was the president of the university from 1915-1926.